Laminate Confusion

Hi all! Great forum here.
I'm looking at possibly installing laminate in my house (Dining room, foyer, living room, hallway ... about 600 SF)
My wife and I don't have a lot to spend, but are fed up with the carpet and stains from dogs/spills/etc. We need to keep our spending to around $2.00/sf, so some of the entry-level laminate seems like our best bet.

I guess my question is in regards to the plethora of brands that are available and which ones to avoid. The top picks (based mainly on look, as I'm not sure how to tell the quality other than AC rating and warranty) in our price range so far are:
1) QuickStep Uniclic 700/7mm - Red Oak Gunstock
2) Kronotex 12mm Robusto Clic2Clic - Lake Bodensee Cherry
3) Bruce 8mm American Home Collection - (dont' have the color name)

Any suggestions or advice on which is the best of these? Would it be better to go with the 12mm stuff since it's AC5 and lifetime warranty? Or can you point me to something similar that I should be considering? I'm leaning toward the Kronotex, but my wife likes the look of the Quickstep better... I'm scared we'd be sacrificing quality for looks. I'm really just kind of overwhelmed with all the options at this point.

I'm sure I'll have some installation questions, too, but don't want to get the cart before the horse. Thanks for any help... I really appreciate it.

Evan M

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Laminate Confusion

My hubby and I have put down 5 laminate floors and here is my take on the products you have picked. I have used the kronotex, and it is top notch stuff, simple to click together, very forgiving because of the weight, easy to get joints tight, just terrific.

Our last floor was a kronotex 12mm in two colors. Light and dark, both look amazing. We did our entire condo in Florida. 400 square feet in the living dining area, and 400 square feet in two bedrooms. This was laid down on concrete, so we put the thickest padding down, with moisture barrier attached.

I have pix if you would like to see them.
The greatest part of the job was 3 days after the completion, we looked around and the condo was impeccably clean, no sign of dust or dirt. Just smooth clean floors!

I have put down the thinner cheaper stuff in my small rec room in my home and am very unhappy. It was 7mm and a smooth design, it looks cheap and even though the room is neat and clean, the laminate just doesn't look good. The joints are already starting to buckle, and my husband is an expert carpenter.

Good luck and write back if you have any other questions or concerns.
Metoo

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Laminate Confusion

Thanks for the suggestion! We've definitely ruled out the other 2, but added a new favorite.
The Quickstep was too plasticy looking and the color of the Bruce just wasn't right for our room.

We really liked the pattern/color of the quickstep, though, and I found Casino Loc 8mm with a 25-yr warranty/AC3 rating that looks very similar (Country Noce pattern). I know this is a bit of a step down from the 12mm, but the color/pattern is more to our liking.
I noticed the Casino Loc has a lot of the same pattern names as the Kronotex 12mm, are they made by the same company and this is just a lesser grade laminate?